The Prophet said to plant a garden, and that's what I'll do!

When we were house hunting down here, we had a short list of things that the new house HAD to have. It needed to be a ranch style house with a front porch for a swing, have a jacuzzi tub, and a place for a garden. Any of you who have been to our house know that it is a 2 story with a nice landscaped yard with no porch. It does have a big tub but no jacuzzi. 0 for 4. I am not quite sure how we ended up here.

(Scott had asked our Realtor where the Temple was and she replied that she had just shown a really nice ranch style home near the Temple and so we decided to go check it out. While we waited for the owner to leave, we noticed another house for sale and felt drawn to look inside. 5 or 6 steps past the front door and the house had me. I felt so at home. I didn't love everything about the house, but I knew it loved me. When we prayed for direction in choosing the new house, we felt that this was the correct choice, no front porch and all!)

For two years we have been trying to figure out how to have a garden without digging up the yard. Originally, we planned to get rid of the swing set and take out the rocks and put in dirt, but the grand kids came and enjoyed it so much we just couldn't get rid of it. So, our effort to follow the Prophet and plant a garden has included the use of containers, retaining walls and good ole creativity.

The first two pictures are of our tomato plants. You can also see the cucumber plants at the end of the line. We had peas earlier this year in the empty pots you see. Behind this tomato plant you can see the strawberry patch. We extended a short retaining wall and planted strawberries. They have been struggling because somebodies hairy black monster likes to lay there when it gets hot. The next 2 pictures are of our squash crop. We planted it in the front yard in the circle around a tree. It has grown like crazy, but there are only 3 squash.
Next is our awesome corn crop. Scott thought that we could plant some corn and peas in the spaces between the blocks of the retaining wall on the side. It has been interesting to see the little plants struggle to grow. The peas did pretty well but the plants were pretty spindly and only about a third of the corn survived that same hairy black beast! He has it out for corn for some reason. Out patch is really adorable. The stalks are only about 2 1/2 feet tall. Every stalk has at least one ear growing and you can see that they are very small. You can also see one of our pepper plants at the end of the corn row.

We have had fun with our little crop. Amazingly, the tomatoes have been fruitful and we are enjoying fresh picked cherry and grape tomatoes just about every day! We have also "harvested" peppers, cucumbers, peas, and squash.

So, we don't have a big garden, but have been blessed for our efforts. Now, how can we add a porch to the front?

What are parents thinking?

I took Luke to school this morning. Well, actually he drove to school with me in the passenger seat. I don't know if it was the fact that I was the passenger and so was more observant or what, but when we pulled into the parking lot I was amazed at the cars parked there. Front and center was a brand new Prius, a shiny Lexus a few cars down and late model pickups and cars everywhere!

What ever happened to the kids 'beater" car line of thinking?? Sure, when my older kids were going to high school there was the occasional really nice car, but most of the cars in the parking lot were tough, sturdy, seasoned vehicles who had graduated from the school of hard knocks and were totally qualified to transport fledgling drivers without worrying about nicks or dings. The student parking lot at Dimond High School was a daily resting place for old Subaru's and Suburbans, not an outdoor showroom for all of the shiny new models of each car company.

Having successfully nurtured and trained 6 new drivers (and just about to launch the 7th upon the roads!) I can't help but think that sometimes the old ways really are the best ways. There will be no shopping for a new car to celebrate the acquisition of Luke's drivers license if he passes the driving test tomorrow, nor will there be a car at his disposal. He will be reduced to borrowing the family car and learning to work together and share the resources we have available.

Of course, those resources do include a 68 Chevy truck Scott recently procured. Now, wouldn't it look great parked next to a shiny new Prius??